


The Monster Isn't Who You Think

by Lovinglolipop0402



Category: Sweet Home (Manhwa), 스위트홈 | Sweet Home (TV)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I just don't write shippy stuff well, No pairings but you can definitely read it that way if you wish, Trauma, aggressive affection, awkward affection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:22:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29458179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovinglolipop0402/pseuds/Lovinglolipop0402
Summary: Kim Do-hun, Hyun-soo's high school bully, is not only alive but is one of the gangsters that break into the Green Apartments. So now, the survivors have to figure out a plan to deal with the murderous gangsters threatening them all while trying to show Hyun-soo that he is worth more than what he was taught to believe.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

Hyun-soo and the others stumbled as the gangsters gathered everyone into a small circle, barely big enough to fit all of them. At first they resisted, shouting in panic and some anger until the gangsters killed Ji-eun, then they all silenced immediately, cowering in their small circle. Well, some were, Eun-hyuk, Hyun-soo, and Eun-yoo were turned towards each other, whispering ideas and plans on how to get out of their current situation. They were only discussing for a few moments when three gangsters returned from the hallway near the elevator. 

"That was a waste of time. No survivors that way." One of them said annoyed, the familiar voice causing Hyun-soo’s blood to freeze in terror and his breath to pick up. His gaze quickly shifted from looking at the siblings to staring at the floor with wide eyes, too afraid to look up in case the gangster entered his vision and his fears were proven real. 

He could vaguely make out Eun-hyuk saying something to him, but couldn't quite tell what it was as the sound of his own panicked thoughts were deafeningly loud. He barely even registered when the slightly older man grabbed his hand, holding it in a tight yet comforting grasp. Hyun-soo closed his eyes and used the contact to ground himself and focused on slowing his breathing. As he did, he became aware of how Eun-hyuk was whispering comforting words to him, barely even audible, probably in fear that the gangsters might overhear. "That's it Hyun, just breath. We'll be fine, I just need you to calm down okay. Focus on your breathing. That's good." For once he didn't sound so cold and did Hyun detect concern in his voice? Maybe he had underestimated their leader after all, it appears he does have human emotions. "Are you back?" He asked softly, but with urgency in his voice. 

"Yes." Hyun answered simply as he wiped away tears he did not realize he was shedding, not trusting himself to give much more than that at the moment.

"Good, cause we're going to need your help if we have any chance of getting out of here" Oh. So maybe that was why he was concerned. Can't exactly use your weapon if he's panicking and can't hear your orders much can you? "Hey, I know I come off as an ass, but I'm not that bad. I was seriously worried about you. You were about to faint, you know." Hyun looked at him shocked, wondering if the older man could read minds.

"You mumbled your thoughts, idiot. I heard you too." Eun-soo whispered from where she sat behind them. "I can tell by your face you were thinking he was a like psychic or something stupid that only the two of you would think of. Sure my brother is incredibly nosy, and bossy, and an asshole and yes we are in a monster apocalypse, but this is still reality and super powers are not real. Nerds." She mumbled the last word to herself, making Eun-hyuk and Hyun-soo both snort despite themselves. He didn’t know how she did it, but talking to Eun-soo always made him less nervous even if most of her words were either rude or overly aggressive. 

"Hey! What are you three whispering about over there!" The gangster with a bucket hat yells. The two siblings look up at him while Hyun only looks further down, still too afraid to test his theory despite the comfort the two gave him. "Hey, you! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" The gangster shouts as he points his gun in Hyun-soo’s direction. He hesitated for a moment, mentally weighing his options but snapped out of it when Eun-soo nudged him. 

He looks up with wide eyes, his vision slightly blurred from the tears gathered in them from both his earlier and currently growing panic. A wicked gasp sounds from behind the bucket hat gangster, followed by a malicious chuckle. "Well fuck me, if it isn't little Hyun-soo. I thought you would be dead by now." Hyun-soo tenses at the mocking voice, his eyes widening and breath catching in his throat once more as the man pushes past bucket hat gangster to stand over him.

"Who is…?" Eun-soo starts, but trails off seeing Hyun's face. Her face dropped in concern as she placed a hand on his back in hopes to get his attention but to no avail.

"An old friend." The man answers when Hyun doesn't. "Don't you remember me? Kim Do-hun?" He didn't move his gaze from staring sinisterly into Hyun-soo’s eyes, his words were more mocking than they were questioning. "We were best friends once. We met on a perfectly clear day." His face grew somehow even more wicked. "Our Dad’s even worked at the same place. It was almost like destiny." 

Hyun-soo gulped. "H-how-"

"How am I here?" He finished once again, trying to show Hyun-soo he still had control over him even now with the conversation. "Well, I met these guys after the monsters started destroying everyone and we clicked. Why? You thought I would die so pathetically? Or was it that you wanted me dead?" He growled out the last part as his face morphed into one of pure rage.

Eun-hyuk decided to step in at that moment, seeing how angry the man was quickly becoming. He put an arm in front of Hyun-soo trying to gently push the younger behind him to protect him from the so called “best friend” not that he believed it for a second. "He was just asking a question. We followed your rules, so you should back off." 

If it was even possible, Do-hun became even angrier as Eun-hyuk finished. He reached around the older man, grabbing a fist full of Hyun’s hair and pulling him out of the circle and away from the others. Hyun reached up, desperately clawing at the man's arm as he tried to free himself from the painful grip, letting out soft whimpers. The other survivors gasped and tried to reach for him but froze when the other gangsters aimed their weapons at them.

"So, you found new friends huh!?" He screams at the top of his lungs. The other gangsters just watched, some amused, like the leader and his right hand, and some shocked that said leader was allowing this. "You decided it would be so easy to just run away and make new friends didn't you?! Do they know about you? Really know about what you did? Did you tell them how you killed your family? How you killed your friend’s mother? How you tried to kill me? Do they know they are friends with a murderer?!" 

Hyun-soo stopped struggling but kept his hands latched onto Do-Hun’s arm in an attempt to reduce the pain. He looked at the others through teary eyes, taking in their shocked faces. Some even looked disgusted at what the other had said. He did his best to shake his head. "No." He mumbled miserably. "No, no no no." 

"No?" Do-hun asked with a scoff, throwing Hyun-soo down before giving a kick to his ribs, causing the boy to curl up with a cough. He knelt down and whispered into Hyun’s ear. "Of course not. Do you think they would be protecting you if they knew? Do you think they would still be your friend?" Do-un grabbed Hyun-soo’s face painfully, his nails digging into the other teenager’s cheeks, pulling him up till he was practically sitting and forcing him to look at the other survivors. "Look at them, they can barely look at you right now. They're disgusted in you Hyun-soo. You're nothing but a disgusting parasite. Everyone would thank me if I rid the world of you." Do-hun let go of him and stepped back, aiming his gun at Hyun-soo, ready to finish what he started so long ago. Hyun-soo fell heavily on his back from the sudden lack of support, staring at the ceiling unable to get himself to move or even think. 

The leader interrupted them as he walked up a smirk on his face and hands clapping slowly in amusement. "Alright that's enough. As entertaining as that was and as much as I love seeing bloodshed. We can't get trigger happy yet. We need information and leverage. Save it for later, when I actually give you permission.” He spat out as a warning. “For now I want you to go check up on the other group. They are taking too long." He finished with a growl as he pushed the weapon down. After a moment of contemplation, Do-hun huffed and walked off. “Put him back in the circle. I’m sorry for him, I promise as long as you listen to what we say and don’t cause trouble no more harm will come to you.” He told the survivors, his voice dripping with fake regret. 

Two gangsters came forward and dragged Hyun-soo back to the circle. The teenager shied away from the others, trying to stay as close to the edge as he could so that he wouldn't burden the rest of the survivors with his presence. How dare he take so much space from those who actually deserved to survive this far. "I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry." He mumbled over and over as he curled into himself. “I didn’t- I-” His words broke off as his anxiety and sorrow increased. He flinched violently when he felt a hand on his shoulder, the hand quickly retreated but was soon replaced two hands on his face, cupping his cheeks and gently guiding him to look up. A stark contrast from the painful grip Do-hun had used earlier, the softer hold only made his head spin worse in confusion.

Du-sik was staring at him, his face both concerned and determined. Hyun-soo shrunk back with a whimper mistaking the determined look for anger and expecting the older man, who he had grown to see as almost a father figure, to start yelling at him, or hit him like he knows he deserves. "Stop apologizing." He said "I don't know the whole story, but I do know bullies when I see them. Trust me, I've seen plenty in my years. I don't think everything he said was entirely true." 

Hyun was shocked to say the least, this was not at all what he expected. "Aren't you disgusted in me? Don't you hate me? Why aren’t you believing him like everyone else does?" 

It was Eun-hyuk’s turn to get his attention. "You aren't a bad person hyun. If you were we would all be dead a thousand times over. And we aren't disgusted in you."

"Yeah, we are disgusted in that monster who thinks himself a human." Eun-soo spat.

"But you heard him. I’m a murderer. My family died because of me, my friend's mom died because of me. I don’t understand. You should be hating me." 

"With how deluded your brain is, I’m pretty sure you aren't a murderer." Eun-soo scoffs, reaching up to run a hand softly through his hair. It still stung from when it was pulled so harshly but her motions were more comforting than painful so he didn’t complain. 

"Look, we'll all sit down and have a talk about how you are not a murderer later." Eun-hyuk starts with a comforting pat to Hyun's thigh, too awkward to do much else. "We need to find a way out of this mess and fast. Before they do try to pick us off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to contribute to the fandom with my own fanfiction. This idea came to me at 2am and I had it all written down by 3am, then took two days to edit it to be legible, so I'm honestly a little nervous about it but I hope it's okay. I'm thinking about making it a multichapter but not sure yet.
> 
> Also, like I said in my tags, I don't write shippy stuff well, I've tried, I fail every time, but I'm good at hinting and doing the whole comfort thing that can be interpreted as shippy. So that is as far as this story will go shipwise. I do ship most of the ships in the fandom, like Hyun-soo with either sibling, I love both ships so much, but not him with both, don;t get me wrong, just him with either sibling. So those will probably getting most of the hints. (Also, I do not ship Hyun-soo with Du-sik so that one is not hinting, that's just pure platonic comfort from an amazing man who somehow acquired so many kids in the middle of an apocalypse)


	2. Chapter 2

“So, do you have a plan?” No Byeong-il asked nervously, glancing over to Ji-euns body which still rested where she was shot. 

“Honestly,” Eun-hyuk began, casting a nervous look to Hyun-soo who was practically clinging to Du-sik, the older man had his arms wrapped around him protectively with Hyun-soo’s head resting on the older man’s shoulder. His eyes were closed as he tried to focus on anything but the conversation that just happened. Hyun-soo’s one hand balled into a tight fist, holding onto the back of Du-sik’s shirt as if the man would leave him if he let go, and the other balled into another fist holding his own sweater above his heart, as Eun-yoo continued to pet his hair. “I had a plan, but now I’m not so sure it will work out.” Eun-yoo and Du-sik looked to Eun-hyuk and shook their heads, clearly understanding the plan he was thinking of and agreeing with him. 

“So no one has a plan?” Seung-wan whispered harshly. “You always have a plan. How come when it is most important, you suddenly don’t have one?”

Eun-yoo scoffed, turning her attention to the cowardly man and bringing her hand down from patting Hyun-soo’s hair to cross her arms. “Do you have a plan then?” Seung-wan opened his mouth as if about to say something but then closed it and looked at the ground. “That’s what I thought. Don’t criticize others when you have been one of the most useless so far.” 

“I’ll think of something,” Eun-hyuk sighed. “But for right now, all we can do is wait. We can’t do anything risky when they have so many weapons pointed at us. Just, be ready to fight back if an opportunity arises.” 

“I can help.” Hyun-soo whispered, lifting his head but not looking at anyone preferring to stare at the ground. “I’m fine, I can help fight.”

“You don’t have to Hyun, we’ll figure out a plan. I’m worried you’ll just get yourself hurt if you are this distracted.” Du-sik spoke up, rubbing his thumb comfortingly over the back of Hyun-soo’s hand that remained clutched in his sweater, Du-sik’s other arm still wrapped around the teenager's back holding him in a firm hug.

“Yeah, you are very clearly shaken up from talking to that asshole. You don’t have to push yourself, we can fight too you know.” Eun-yoo comforted.

“No, I can help. I want to help. Besides, it’s better for me to help since I heal faster than the rest of you.” Hyun-soo said, determined. He slowly moved out of Du-sik’s embrace to prove he was okay, though his hand still stayed clutched over his heart nervously. 

“Okay, that’s good. We are going to need everyone we can get.” Eun-hyuk nodded, then leaned in to whisper in Hyun-soo’s ear. “They aren’t like you Hyun, they could all get killed. I’m counting on you to protect them when the time comes.” He explained, quiet enough to not be heard by the others. “I know you are scared right now but you can’t do anything rash, wait for my signal.”

Jun-seop walked up to the group, holding a couple of papers. “You really made an effort, huh? Who’s the leader here?” He asked, scanning the survivors. “Who made these?” He continued when no one responded, throwing the papers on the ground at their feet. 

Eun-hyuk stood. “I did.” 

“I heard someone performed surgery here. Who was that?”

Eun-hyuk sighed quietly, but his gaze did not waver. “I did.” 

“Everyone here is useless. There’s an old man, a cripple, a sniveling psychopath, and even a patient. This place is the worst so far, but so many survived.” The leader of the gang titled his head with a smirk. “You’re young, but I guess you’re pretty capable.” He let out a chuckle. “I like you. What do you say, will you abandon them and join us or will you just die?” Eun-hyuk took a moment to think over his options before silently walking out of the circle, stopping when he stood next to Jung-seop. “You made a good choice. You’re very smart.” 

“Sir! There’s a monster here!” The bucket hat gangster exclaimed as he ran towards the group. 

“Well, isn’t that interesting. Let’s go take a look. You, smart kid, come with me. The rest of you better keep an eye on them. Make sure they don’t cause any trouble.” He called behind his back as he and Eun-hyuk followed Nam-il down the hallway that led to the arcade.

“Do you think they found her?” Hye-in asked quietly.

“I can’t imagine it being anyone else. That bucket hat guy didn’t look scared enough for a fully formed monster and we don’t hear any gun fire or fighting. It has to be her.” Seung-wan whimpered. 

“They aren’t gonna kill her are they?” Byeong-il asked worriedly.

No one answered his question, no one dared to. Sure, Seon-yeong was turning into a monster, but she was nice to them and already went through hell. They had all grown to root for her and hope she never fully turned like Hyun-soo. None of them wanted to even think about the possibility of her dying, especially at the hands of the very people holding them captive as well. 

They sat in heavy silence until the sound of a gunshot reverberated throughout the apartments. Kim Su-yeong letting out a cry of fear and Jin-ok holding her tighter in comfort. Hyun-soo jumped to his feet but didn’t move as the gangsters aimed their weapons at him. “What just happened? Did they kill Eun-hyuk?” One survivor asked.

“He’s on their side now. So it must be Seon-yeong.” Hye-in replied in shock. 

Hyun-soo wanted so badly to lash out and fight those gangsters who dared to hurt those he had grown to care for. He wanted to grab them all and run before the leader had returned, or even worse, Do-hun, but he remembered what Eun-hyuk had whispered to him. He couldn’t act rashly and risk getting the others killed. He had to control his emotions and wait for a proper chance. 

He sighed and sat back down, startling when Eun-yoo suddenly grabbed his hand. He turned to her worriedly, still not used to people touching him unless it was to beat him up, only to find that she was staring in the direction Eun-hyuk had walked off, looking like she might cry at any moment. He gripped her hand tighter but not enough to hurt and rubbed her back in soothing circles, trying his best to comfort her this time. 

They soon heard voices talking from where the three had left, everyone tensing up and moving in closer towards each other. They had just gotten a glimpse of Eun-hyuk when another gun shot rang out, this one much closer, and one of the gangsters surrounding the survivors collapsed. They couldn’t see who had fired as there was a wall in the way, but mentally praised them as the gangsters ran after the shooter. 

Eun-hyuk reacted quickly and grabbed Jung-seop, holding him down as he yelled. “Cha Hyun-soo! Now!”

They all jumped into action, Hyun-soo tackled one of the gangsters while the other survivors focused on taking down a few others. Hyun-soo quickly took care of the one he had tackled and got up. He grabbed another gangster by their gun and held him against a pillar, pushing the gun against the gangster's neck, effectively cutting off his air. 

“You disgusting little rat!” Do-hun’s voice called out from the other side of the lobby, causing Hyun-soo to freeze. He didn’t register that the pinned gangster had a knife until he felt a sharp pain in his side. Hyun-soo focused on the rage he felt towards the gangsters for hurting his friends and let his eyes turn completely black. He stepped back, and threw a punch at the guys face, effectively knocking him out. He moved to go help Eun-hyuk when another gun shot rang out and he felt an intense burning sensation in his shoulder, the force sending him crashing to the ground dazed. 

The sound of screaming rang loudly in his ears like emergency sirens, but his brain couldn’t process what was happening anymore. He knew his eyes were at least back to normal as he couldn’t feel the familiar burning sensation that accompanied the change. Hyun-soo lifted his head to find that Jung-seop now had Eun-hyuk on the ground, a gun pressed to his forehead. His breath caught in shock and he attempted to inch towards the other when a heavy boot landed on his back, pressing down painfully. He let out a soft cry of pain as it irritated his injuries. 

“I know what you are Hyun.” Do-hun practically purred into his ear with a wicked smile while Jung-seop was talking to the survivors. Somehow even though Jung-seop was yelling and Do-hun was whispering, the laters voice rang louder in Hyun-soo’s ears. “I saw your eyes, you’re a monster. How ironic, you wanted to die so badly that you became a creature who can’t die.” He laughed, pushing his boot harder into Hyun’s back. Hyun-soo closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from crying out and drawing attention toward the two. “It’s such a perfect fate for you. I can do whatever I want to you and no one would care cause you’re not even human anymore. You’re nothing but a disgusting vermin. I’m going to make your life miserable Hyun, I’m gonna make you wish you could die. It’ll be just like old times, except this time I don’t have to worry about being careful. It’ll be great, whaddya say Hyun? I’ll even make sure your new friends get mercy and die quickly.” Hyun tensed, his mind once more filling with rage. 

He wanted nothing more than to get up and start fighting again, but knew he couldn’t with Jung-seop holding a gun to Eun-hyuk’s forehead. He stared at the slightly older teenager who was staring back at him, his eyes that were usually emotionless now filled with concern as he mouthed something which Hyun-soo couldn’t even begin to make out. His brain unable to focus on anything but thinking of ways to get out of their situation without killing the others. 

Eventually, Jung-seop stepped back, the survivors must have done what he said. The gang leader yanked Eun-hyuk up by his arm “I was wrong about you. You really are a fool like the rest of them.” He huffed as he threw Eun-hyuk back into the circle with the others. “Do-hun toss the kid back in with the rest of them. With his injuries, it looks like he’s gonna die any minute anyway. Let him serve as a lesson to them about what happens when they cross me. At the very least we can use the rest of them to distract the monsters while we loot this place. Right now we need to focus on catching whoever shot up my men.”

Do-hun huffed his dissatisfaction with the command but complied and scooped Hyun-soo up with an arm under his bad shoulder, making the teenager wince. He tossed him into the circle with the rest, scoffing as he landed painfully on top of Eun-hyuk who had yet to fully sit up. “You really are the same old Hyun aren’t you?” He mocked, placing his foot on Hyun’s scarred wrist and pressing his weight down on it. “Pathetic.” No one moved in fear of the gangsters lashing out, but most glared at Do-hun with hatred those who didn’t looked away in fear or disgust.

“Do-hun, now.” Jung-seop called, already walking off in the direction of the earlier gun fire. Do-hun practically growled in annoyance, lifting his leg and slamming it back down, the others winced at the sound of a snap and Hyun-soo’s strangled cry of pain. The bully chuckled darkly as he walked off with Jung-seop. 

Hyun-soo attempted to drag himself off of Eun-hyuk before he passed out, as he knew he was about to do, considering how many injuries he had obtained. He tried to put his good hand under him to support himself, however he kept falling when his arm failed to hold his weight. 

Hyun-soo huffed in annoyance, he just wanted to not be a burden for once and get off their leader before he became completely useless again but he couldn’t even do that. His breathing picked up slightly when he felt an arm wrap around his chest from behind. “Stop squirming for a second.” Eun-hyuk’s voice mumbled in his ear, and he let out a sigh of relief at the familiar voice.

Hyun-soo could detect both anger and concern but didn’t understand what he could have done to cause that tone in his exhausted and injured state. Oh right, he hand landed on the older man, that must have hurt, and now he can’t even get up. That must be the source of his anger, Hyun-soo was being a burden again. “Sorry” he mumbled, eyes half lidded. His body now too heavy to even try to pick himself up, he almost whined in frustration.

“Stop apologizing. None of this was your fault.” Eun-hyuk sighed yet again. He realized that their leader had been sighing a lot lately. 

Hyun-soo then felt him lift the two of them up so that Eun-hyuk was properly sitting upright. He maneuvered Hun-soo so that he was practically sitting sideways in his lap with his head resting against Eun-hyuk’s chest. Now that he was sitting upright, Eun-hyuk wrapped both his arms around Hyun-soo’s barely conscious form protectively, gently rubbing his arms being careful to avoid his injuries. 

Hyun-soo frowned despite the comfort, finding something blaringly inaccurate in what Eun-hyuk had said. “But it is my fault. All of it’s my fault.” He mumbled, his eyebrows frowned and lip pouting. Despite the blood covering him, Eun-hyuk thought it was a cute expression. 

“We really need to have a talk about your fucked up mind set.” Eun-yoo sighed from beside the two, earning her a glare from her brother. 

“Just get some rest so you can heal. We’ll talk when you are feeling better.” Eun-hyuk comforted. Hyun-soo nodded, finally giving up the fight to stay awake and succumbing to the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I decided after like four days of endless debate to remove Ui-myeong from the story altogether. I'm really sorry if that's disappointing, I know people like him. I just figured with Do-hun there, having Ui-myeong would be overkill and have the story end early once he starts his plot. So this is now an AU where Do-hun gets picked up by the gang instead of Ui-myeong. 
> 
> I also tried my hand at some shippy fluff. I can't write fluff or ships well so I hope it's okay. Don't expect much more than this level of shippy fluff in future chapters though. Sorry this chapter took so long, there was a lot to debate and change up then I had it fully written for two days and wasn't able to even touch it to edit because school projects hit. I hope it was worth the wait though!

**Author's Note:**

> So, I decided to contribute to the fandom with my own fanfiction. This idea came to me at 2am and I had it all written down by 3am, then took two days to edit it to be legible, so I'm honestly a little nervous about it but I hope it's okay. I'm thinking about making it a multichapter but not sure yet. 
> 
> Also, like I said in my tags, I don't write shippy stuff well, I've tried, I fail every time, but I'm good at hinting and doing the whole comfort thing that can be interpreted as shippy. So that is as far as this story will go shipwise. I do ship most of the ships in the fandom, like Hyun-soo with either sibling, I love both ships so much, but not him with both, don;t get me wrong, just him with either sibling. So those will probably getting most of the hints. (Also, I do not ship Hyun-soo with Du-sik so that one is not hinting, that's just pure platonic comfort from an amazing man who somehow acquired so many kids in the middle of an apocalypse)


End file.
